College eSport Varsity Scholarships Now Available for Qualified Video Game Players

College scholarships have gone techie. Excellent players of League of Legends now have a chance to win a college eSport varsity scholarship. Even if a student is not athletic, there is still a chance of getting into college with a gaming scholarship, with Robert Morris University in Illinois partnering with Riot Games, the company behind the very popular video game, League of Legends (LoL). The university just announced that online sports will be a part of its athletics program and qualified students could become varsity scholars through this program.

International competition

According to Riot Games, there are more than 67 million people that play the League of Legends each month. Regular competitions are held for this video game in several international cities. RMU released a press statement stating that eight Canadian provinces and 750 schools in 46 states in the U.S. are participating in the LoL high school league and in September, RMU will be joining the Collegiate Star League, which is composed of more than 100 universities and colleges, including George Washington, Arizona State and Harvard University. The teams that will compete in LoL’s North American Collegiate Championship are playing for the $100,000 scholarship fund.

RMU announced that it will be offering students who will make it to its varsity eSport League of Legends team half of their room and board and half of their tuition. It is considered to be a very good offer since the school’s current full-time undergraduate tuition fee amounts to $7,900 each quarter, with about $14,400 in annual housing fee. The eSport program of RMU will be handled by Kurt Melcher, the school’s Associate Athletic Director. The incoming LoL gamers to the university will have a chance of getting one of the 60 scholarships, each one equivalent to $19,000 that the school will be offering in autumn.

Just like other team sports

The popular video game League of Legends is a very challenging and competitive game, according to Mr. Melcher, adding that playing the game successfully requires a substantial amount of teamwork. RMU, whose main campus is located in Chicago, is a private college, with 7,000 students.

League of Legends, according to its website, is a real-time online strategy game that blends intensity, speed, and role-playing techniques. Each day, more than 27 million players around the world are playing the game, according to the game’s developers. Players in last year’s national championship tournament held at the Los Angeles Staples Center played for the $1 million prize.

The United States started offering outstanding players athlete visas to enter the country, as a testament to the country’s recognition of eSport players as professional athletes.

Varsity player status

Mr. Melcher says League of Legends is a competitive, challenging game that requires a significant amount of collaboration. RMU is the first college to offer an eSport scholarship and Mr. Melcher hopes that they will not be the last. RMU students that are already playing the League of Legends welcome this news. However, they believe that other people, especially other athletes that are into physical games, should be informed of the skills required to play video games competitively.

Mr. Melcher also said that these eSport players will be treated in the same way as other varsity players. They will be playing under a coach, will have regular practice, and have uniforms. If needed, they could also receive academic support.

Image credit: League of Legends taken by Spillik under Public Domain.